Binghamton University junior women's tennis player Julie Klein of Roslyn captured the first doubles flight, leading the Division II Colonials to a team championship in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Tennis Championships, hosted this weekend by Binghamton.

Klein, who also advanced to the final at first singles, teamed with sophomore Heather Binen to defeat their top-seeded opponents from Albany in the championship match - the deciding match of the entire three-day tournament. Both Binghamton and Albany had entered the match with identical point totals (32). Klein, who mixed a solid baseline game with attacking net play, led the BU tandem to a 6-7 (7-1), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Albany's pair of Julie Bliss and Samantha Kramer. Following the match, Klein and Binen were named the conference's Most Outstanding Doubles Team by the NECC coaches.

Binghamton finished first with 34 points, followed by Albany (32), Stony Brook (28), Sacred Heart (17), UMass Lowell (10.5), Franklin Pierce (7) and New Haven (2).

Counting the 10 consecutive conference victories Binghamton earned while a Division III member of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) from 1987-96, the Colonials have now captured 11 straight conference crowns. Binghamton competed as a Division III independent in 1997-98 before elevating to its entire 19-sport athletics program to NCAA Division II status this fall. The NECC title is the school's first Division II conference championship.

Klein, who narrowly missed out on an NCAA Division III tournament berth last spring, has won 40 matches in her first two years at Binghamton. Last spring she was ranked 33rd in the nation. As a scholastic athlete, Klein played for Lynn Jacobson at Roslyn High School, earning team MVP and All-State honors.